It is 17 kilometres (11 mi) north-east of the Sydney central business district and is currently one of the three administrative centres of the local government area of Northern Beaches Council.

Manly has a long-standing reputation as a tourist destination, owing to its attractive setting on the Pacific Ocean and easy accessibility by ferry.

When Governor Phillip's party arrived to see the Aboriginal men they held friendly conversation with Bennelong and Colebee for over half an hour.

All was in confusion, there were calls to bring the muskets, Bennelong and Colebee disappeared and Governor Phillip could not make it to the ship because of the length of spear sticking from his shoulder and dragging on the ground.

[6] Initially John had chartered a paddle steamer to Manly and other vessels visited on an ad hoc "excursion" basis.

[7] By 1873, Smith had sold the lease to the wharf and his share of the steamers to the operators of the ferries and eventually ownership passed to the once famous Port Jackson & Manly Steamship Company.

It built several attractions including a large ocean pool and bathing pavilion, the Manly Fun Pier.

In March 1885, as the New South Wales Contingent was about to depart for the Sudan, a letter was addressed to Premier William Bede Dalley containing a cheque for £25 for the Patriotic Fund "with my best wishes from a little boy at Manly".

In 1896, the first film ever made in Australia was Marius Sestier's Passengers Alighting from Ferry Brighton at Manly.

The film, consisting of footage of the PS Brighton arriving at the wharf, premiered at the Salon Lumière on Pitt St (Australia's first cinema) on 27 October 1896.

In October 1902 William Gocher, clad in a neck to knee costume, swam at midday after announcing his intention to do so in the newspaper he had established (Manly and North Sydney News).

In November 1903, Manly Council resolved to allow all-day bathing provided a neck to knee swimming costume was worn.

In 1973, residents in the Eastern Hill section of Manly requested that the NSW Builders Labourers Federation place a green ban on the construction of two large tower blocks by LJ Hooker.

Norfolk Island pine trees are symbolic of Manly and are a prominent feature of both the ocean and harbour beaches.

The Reserve was dedicated in a ceremony in Manly Beach by world surfing champion Kelly Slater accompanied by the Governor of New South Wales, Marie Bashir.

The commercial area extends to surrounding streets with more cafes and restaurants concentrated along the ocean and harbour shores.

St Patrick's Seminary was used as Jay Gatsby's mansion–palm trees at the building's exterior had to be digitally removed in post-production to create a realistic depiction of the Eastern United States (specifically Long Island), where the novel and film are set.

The next most common countries of birth were England 11.7%, New Zealand 3.2%, the United States of America 2.9%, Brazil 1.9% and South Africa 1.7%.

The relaxed lifestyle, beaches and proximity to Sydney city have led to Manly's real estate prices being amongst the highest in Australia.

It was originally conceived as part of St Patrick's Seminary and is a good example of the Victorian Gothic Revival style.

In 1987 the British novelist, Lesley Thomson published Seven Miles From Sydney, a thriller about a female screenwriter who is murdered while jogging on Shelly Beach.